<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Shattered Glass by FaerieMirage</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22502908">Shattered Glass</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaerieMirage/pseuds/FaerieMirage'>FaerieMirage</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:14:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22502908</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaerieMirage/pseuds/FaerieMirage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Her twin brother Conscripted, Kina Tabris struggles with the feeling of having failed to protect those she loves. </p>
<p>Fortunately, she is not alone. Nesiara, after all, has not returned to Highever.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Tabris/Nesiara, Female Warden/Nesiara, Tabris/Nesiara, Warden/Nesiara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Shattered Glass</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Broken glass, small feet, blue flowers. A prompt from the r/dragonage subreddit. Exploring a possible future for Nesiara and a female Tabris.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A strangled cry tore from Kina Tabris’ lips, and she threw a vase against the wall, glass shattering to the ground. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The elven woman fell to her knees, biting her knuckles so hard that she could taste her blood. Good. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She needed to hurt, to bleed- she deserved worse! So many dead because of her! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her betrothed- m-maybe she hadn’t wanted to marry him, but she hadn’t wanted him </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span>! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shianni- she hadn’t been able to protect Shianni!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A-and Lindera-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina bit back a sob. Andraste’s mercy, what would happen to Lindera?! One moment of weakness; just a small moment, and Kina hadn’t been able to speak up, hadn’t been able to take responsibility for the death of the Arl’s son. She had frozen, horrified at the thought of prison.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And Lindera… her twin, her brother that she always, always had protected...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had taken all the blame. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tears pricked at the corner of Kina’s eyes. He hadn’t even killed Vaughan! She should have stepped up, she should have taken responsibility! No, she would </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> regret killing that son of a bitch, but because she had been a damned coward, her twin was going to fight in a war!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Some might say Warden Duncan had saved Lindera’s life. Lin had certainly seemed to think so.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But was it truly mercy to make her brother into a Warden, to throw him against </span>
  <em>
    <span>Darkspawn</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Surely he wouldn’t come back alive! Lin- Lin wasn’t- he wasn’t as strong as Kina, how could he-!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tears blurred her vision as Kina scrabbled about the floor, blindly picking up broken glass and crushed blue flowers. It wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fair</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Lin had wanted to get married! He- he had wanted a family, to hear little feet running across the floor!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And Kina… she had taken that from him! </span>
  <em>
    <span>She had taken that from him</span>
  </em>
  <span>-!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kina?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A familiar, soft voice broke the distraught woman free from her increasingly desperate thoughts. Kina glanced up, tears still threatening to fall. “N-Nesiara…? Wh-what are you doing here? I-I thought you would be on your way back to H-Highever.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina’s brother’s former betrothed shook her said. “I thought I might stay here, open a store with Valora. Her eyes flickered down to where Kina knelt, the elven woman’s hands clenched over glass and crushed flowers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re bleeding,” she said, softly, and knelt down, placing her hands on Kina’s arms and pulling the smaller woman up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina glanced down at her hands, noting dimly that Nesiara was right. She had bits of glass digging into her hands… </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” she mumbled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nesiara pursed her lips. “No. You’re not. Come on.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She led the unprotesting Kina to a chair, gently pushing Kina down to sit. “Wait here a moment, alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina mumbled an agreement and continued to stare down at her hands. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. What… what had she done? How could she have let this happen to Lin? Her- her wild, untamed, innocent brother! She- she had thrown him to the wolves! </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mother,” she whispered. “Why…? Why did you rely on </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Why did you- you leave me </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her lips trembled. No. No, she wasn’t going to cry! Not now, not in front of-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay to cry,” Nesiara said, gently, entering the room with a bowl of water and a rag. She took one of Kina’s calloused hands in her own delicate, smooth hands and started to pick the glass out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina grit her teeth. “I don’t have anything to cry about.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nesiara said nothing, just continued to pull glass out of Kina’s palms. A few moments passed, the silence broken only by the taller woman dipping the rag into the water and carefully running it over Kina’s cuts. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina’s chin trembled. A tear ran down her face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nesiara dipped the rag back into the bowl to rinse the blood out, and for whatever reason, a damn broke inside Kina.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The small elven woman began to sob, great, heaving sobs that her shoulders shook under the force of. Nesiara put the bowl and rag down and wrapped her arms around Kina, one hand stroking Kina’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” she murmured. “Just let it all out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For several moments, Kina couldn’t reply. She just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, clutching Nesiara like a lifeline. Nesiara continued to stroke her hair, murmuring soothing words. Eventually, Kina’s sobs slowed to small, shuddering breaths. She finally pulled back, wiping her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“N-Nesiara, I-” Kina’s face burned with shame. How could she just- burden Nesiara like this? She was supposed to be strong, a steady rock to cling to in a wild river! Not- not- not breaking down into the arms of a woman she had only known for a day!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nesiara placed a finger under Kina’s chin, tilting the smaller woman’s face up to look her in the eyes. “Don’t,” she said, quietly. “Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for, Kina.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“B-but I-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You saved us,” Nesiara said, fiercely, her own eyes bright. “You and Lindera, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>saved</span>
  </em>
  <span> us. No one else would have done what you both did.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina bit her lip. “But I… I let Lin-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I only knew Lindera for a few hours. But I know… this life wasn’t for him. He’s going to be a Warden, Kina. And he wanted it. I could see it in his eyes, even when he told me he would come back for me.” Nesiara smiled sadly. “What could I say, other than to release him from our engagement? You didn’t condemn him, Kina. He was proud to protect you… I could tell from the way he spoke, from the way his eyes shone.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He… maybe… maybe he would be better off as a Warden. Kina had always known, deep down, her twin had never wanted this life. But she hadn’t wanted to lose him, the brother she had protected all her life… she was supposed to be strong for him!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He is going to go on to do great things, I think,” Nesiara continued. She smiled again, a brighter smile, and Kina found herself blushing from the way Nesiara’s eyes lit up. “And you, Kina… you’re going to help Valora and I open our shop!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina blinked. “Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nesiara had a beautiful laugh, Kina thought distractedly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We want you to join us.” Nesiara’s smile widened. “Just think, Kina. The three of us, we’ll run our own shop. It will be wonderful! We’ll be in charge of our own lives.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In charge… of her own life? Kina… had never really considered that. She had always thought she would follow in her mother’s footsteps… She… she hadn’t wanted to, but… that was what was expected of her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nesiara stood up, holding out her hand to Kina. “What do you say, Kina? Will you join us?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her own life. Her own choice. In a way, Lindera had freed Kina by leaving the Alienage. Almost as if he had been trying to tell her…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She no longer needed to do what was expected of her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kina took Nesiara’s hand and squeezed. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>